''Back in Business'' is the fifth studio album by American hip hop duo

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is an initialism for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. E Double) and Parrish Smith ("PMD" a.k.a. Parrish Mi ...

. It was released on September 16, 1997, through

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

. The recording sessions took place at Mirror Image and Soundtrack Studios in New York. The album was produced by members Erick Sermon and PMD, as well as

DJ Scratch George Spivey (born June 21, 1968), known professionally as DJ Scratch, is an American hip hop music, hip hop DJ and producer from Brooklyn, New York. DJ Scratch is the 1988 New Music Seminar Battle For World Supremacy DJ champion, the 2010 M ...

, with Agallah and Rockwilder serving as co-producers. It features

guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

s from Das EFX, Keith Murray, Nocturnal, and Redman. In the United States, the album peaked at number 16 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 4 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

. It was certified Gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on November 17, 1997 for selling 500,000 copies. It also reached number 100 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

and number 14 on the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart. The song "Never Seen Before" was released as a split single with Foxy Brown's " Big Bad Mamma" from '' Def Jam's How to Be a Player soundtrack''. " Da Joint" made it to number 94 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and became the duo's second most successful single (after " Crossover") in the

album era The album era (sometimes, album-rock era) was a period in popular music, usually defined as the mid-1960s through the mid-2000s, in which the album—a collection of songs issued on physical media—was the dominant form of recorded music expr ...

. The final single off of the album, "Richter Scale", only reached number 62 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. The album marks the reunion of the group after five year disbandment, when the pair had broken up due to financial issues.

Critical reception

'' Vibe'' wrote that "Sermon's sluggish production makes the duo's paper-thin and finance-driven subject matter that much more irritating". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' declared: "Gone is the Wall of Sound funk that made EPMD famous". The ''

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is owned by Hearst Communications. The distribution of the following ''The New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', '' ...

'' thought that "jams such as 'Richter Scale' and 'Get With This' show true EPMD style as Erick and Parish sound perfect together over guitar funk". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' wrote that ''Back in Business'' "returns to the breaks and beats that made PMDgreat: kooky 1970s funk samples mixed with guitar loops and cool-as-ice vocals".

Track listing

;Sample credits *Track 2 contains samples from "Person to Person" as recorded by Average White Band and a sample from " Jungle Boogie" by

Kool & the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B, soul music, soul, and funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964. Its founding members include brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell (musician), Ronald Bell (also known as " ...

. *Track 3 contains a sample from "

Think (About It) "Think (About It)" is a funk song recorded by Lyn Collins and released as a single on James Brown's People Records in 1972. The recording was produced by Brown (who also wrote the song) and features instrumental backing from his band The J.B.' ...

" performed by

Lyn Collins Gloria Lavern Collins (June 12, 1948 – March 13, 2005), better known as Lyn Collins, was an American soul singer best known for working with James Brown in the 1970s and for the influential 1972 funk single, "Think (About It)". A favorite ...

and excerpts from "Shake Your Rump" performed by

Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...

. *Track 4 contains an interpolation of "Just Kissed My Baby" by

the Meters The Meters (later The Funky Meters) are an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), George Porter Jr. (bass), Leo Nocentelli (guitar) and Art Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their o ...

and a sample from "Public Enemy #1" as recorded by

Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...

. *Track 7 contains a sample from "Midnight Groove" by

Barry White Barry Eugene White (né Carter; September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and ...

and a sample from "

Front Lines (Hell on Earth) "Front Lines (Hell on Earth)" is the official first single from Mobb Deep's '' Hell on Earth'' album. The song is listed on the album as "Hell on Earth (Front Lines)". The song samples "October Ballade" by Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea, Joe Henders ...

" performed by

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

. *Track 8 contains excerpts from "

Big Beat Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as the ...

" written and performed by

Billy Squier William Haislip Squier (, born May 12, 1950) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who had a string of arena rock and crossover hits in the early 1980s. His best-known songs include " The Stroke", " Lonely Is the Night", " My Kinda Love ...

. *Track 9 contains a sample from "

Funkin' for Jamaica (N.Y.) "Funkin' for Jamaica (N.Y.)" is a song by jazz trumpeter Tom Browne (trumpeter), Tom Browne. The single—a memoir of the Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens where Browne was born and raised—is from his s ...

" performed by Tom Browne. *Track 11 contains a sample from " More Bounce to the Ounce" as recorded by Zapp and a sample from "Jungle Boogie". *Track 13 contains a sample of "Da Mad Face Invasion" performed by

Onyx Onyx is a typically black-and-white banded variety of agate, a silicate mineral. The bands can also be monochromatic with alternating light and dark bands. ''Sardonyx'' is a variety with red to brown bands alternated with black or white bands. ...

and a sample of "

(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!) "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" (shortened to "Fight for Your Right" on album releases) is a song by American hip hop/rap rock group Beastie Boys, released as the fourth single from their debut album '' Licensed to Ill'' (1986). O ...

" by Beastie Boys. *Track 15 contains a sample from " Mary Jane" written and performed by

Rick James James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in his tee ...

. *Track 16 contains a sample of "Watching You" performed by

Slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

Personnel

* Erick Sermon – vocals, producer (tracks: 1–4, 6, 8–11, 13, 16), co-producer (track 7), executive producer, sleeve notes *Parrish " PMD" Smith – vocals, producer (tracks: 5, 7, 11, 14, 15), executive producer, sleeve notes *Andre "Krazy Drayz" Weston – additional vocals (track 5), vocals (track 6) *Willie "Skoob" Hines – additional vocals (track 5), vocals (track 6) *Yasin "Nocturnal" Muhammedi – additional vocals (track 5), vocals (track 14) *Darryl "Pop" Trotter – additional vocals (track 10) * Keith Murray – vocals (track 13) *Reggie " Redman" Noble – vocals (track 13) *George "

" Spivey – scratches, producer (track 12) *Dana " Rockwilder" Stinson – co-producer (track 3) *Angel " 8-Off" Aguilar – co-producer (track 14) *Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez – recording (tracks: 1, 5, 10, 13–15), mixing (tracks: 1–3, 5–10, 12, 13, 15) *Tommy Uzzo – recording (tracks: 2–4, 11, 16), mixing (tracks: 4, 11, 16) *Tom Chianti – recording (tracks: 6–9) *Mikael Ifversen – recording (track: 12) *Chris Irish – mixing (track 14) *Dave Butcher – engineering assistant *Marc Berto – engineering assistant *Mike Koch – engineering assistant *

Tony Dawsey Tony Dawsey is an American mastering engineer at Masterdisk in New York City. He has been active since 1980.Danny Clinch Danny Clinch (born 1964) is an American photographer and film director. Early life and education Born in Toms River, New Jersey, Clinch graduated from Toms River High School East in 1982. After attending Ocean County College, he attended the New ...

– photography *

Kevin Liles Kevin Liles (born February 27, 1968) is an American record executive who is the co-founder and CEO of 300 Entertainment. In 2020, Kevin was recognized by Billboard Magazine as R&B/Hip-Hop Executive of the Year for both his efforts in activism ...

– A&R *Irving "

Irv Gotti Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (June 26, 1970 – February 5, 2025), professionally known as Irv Gotti or DJ Irv, was an American record producer and music executive. Gotti started off as a New York hip-hop DJ in the 1980s, then becoming an A&R t ...

" Lorenzo Jr. – A&R *The Drawing Board – creative director *Jasmine "Jazz" Young – marketing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1997 albums EPMD albums Def Jam Recordings albums Albums produced by DJ Scratch Albums produced by Erick Sermon Albums produced by Parrish Smith Albums produced by Agallah Albums produced by Rockwilder